Technology has automated so much in our lives, but it still comes down to human hands to create, maintain, and work with said technology. But being human, those same people are bound to make mistakes -- even the tech experts.

Errors may be easy to make, but the ability to laugh at oneself is not. Luckily, some brave souls are willing to share their humbling tales of egg on their face. Here are a few from the Off the Record archives.

Do you have an IT tale of a mistake made or a humbling lesson learned? If you'd like to cash in on your IT experiences by publishing a story in the Off the Record blog, send it to offtherecord@infoworld.com. If we publish it, we'll keep you anonymous and send you a $50 American Express gift cheque.

A techie has a personal learning experience when responsible for backing up the company servers, including payroll. Lesson learned: It helps to read the manual.

Who is Anonymous? It's you, the IT pro, who shares true experiences from the job. Since 2005, the many Anonymous writers have entertained and commiserated with peers through stories of personal blunders, coping with poor managers, trying to communicate with users, and resolving tech problems. Submit your story, and if we publish it in the Off the Record blog we'll send you a $50 American Express gift cheque -- and, of course, keep you Anonymous.